Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Peacemaking and the BBL

ONE of the more objective thought on the
issue of peacemaking and the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is that of Archbishop
Socrates Villegas which, as he premised, he is sharing neither as president of
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines nor as archbishop of
Lingayen Dagupan, but “as a Filipino and a believer in Christ”.Dated in time for the celebration of “Araw ng
Kagitingan” (The Day of Valor) on April 9, he titles his piece “Bataan Valor, Peacemaking and the Draft BBL”.

Admittedly,
the Mamasapano clash last January has triggered deep-seated apprehensions on
the peacemaking efforts in Mindanao particularly on the draft BBL, which should
not be the case. Providentially or otherwise, this incident made even the
general public more serious about this draft legislation. But to equate peace and the BBL would be a
careless association that may in fact be counterproductive in the long
haul. “What threatens the prospect of
peace most, however, is equating it with the present BBL and threatening the
return of violence and bloodshed should the Legislature fail to pass it
intact!,” says Archbishop Villegas.

The threat of
bloodshed if the BBL draft is not passed in
toto was made of late by no less than the president himself and the head of
the peace negotiating panel. Says the
archbishop, “Our sights should be set
not on a truce, not on some tenuous cessation of hostilities, and for this,
principles must be explicated, clearly discussed and rationally agreed on. This
is what I refer to as ‘principled peace’. And warning that we shall have war
unless BBL is passed does not make for principled peace!”

On its
constitutionality, the archbishop opines, “It is my position that all
suggestions, insinuations or hints that the Constitution will be amended to
accommodate the provisions of the BBL cease. The Constitution is not a document
that can be dealt with in patch-work fashion whenever we enter into
negotiations with any restive sector of the Philippines. In this respect, the
decision of the Supreme Court in the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral
Domains (Province of North Cotabato v. GRP Peace Panel, 2008) ought to be the
juridical sieve through which the BBL should be examined. If we pass anything
now, let us enact a document that we are morally certain will withstand
constitutional challenge before the Supreme Court. I have paid close attention
to the arguments of the legal experts summoned by the houses of Congress to
shed light on the Constitutional issues, and I am convinced that there are some
very crucial points of constitutional law that ought to be resolved. Glossing
over them will not be helpful at all, and it is neither my place nor my
competence to pass upon them now.”

The abating
stature of the Aquino administration may actually be another big factor that
could be dragging the current peacemaking initiative an uphill climb—at least
in the bar of public opinion. Everybody
wants peace. But a good one.